Eight Straight for Jayhawks after 19-11 win at Texas A&M

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Senior Brandon McAnderson rushed for two touchdowns on 21 carries for 183 yards as the Kansas football team defeated Texas A&M for the first time ever in College Station, 19-11 on Saturday night.

With the win, Kansas improves to 8-0 overall, 4-0 in the Big 12. It is the first time in 98 years that Kansas has started the season with eight consecutive wins. Texas A&M is now 6-3 overall and 3-2 in the conference.

After a scoreless first half, Kansas scored on their first four possessions in the second half. A McAnderson six-yard touchdown run was sandwiched between two Scott Webb field goals in the third quarter to give Kansas a 13-0 lead after 45 minutes of play.

KU’s first possession of the fourth quarter came courtesy of John Larson’s fumble recovery at the Texas A&M 43-yardline. Four plays later, on third and goal, McAnderson burst through the line from two yards out to put Kansas up 19-0.

McAnderson led the Kansas offensive attack with 183 yards on the ground, 100 of which came in the first half. His first-half effort was good enough to mark his third 100-yard rushing game of the season.

In Mark Mangino’s first road win over a Big 12 South opponent, the defense held the high-powered Aggies running game to 74 yards on the ground.

The Aggies, after closing the gap to 19-3, connected on a 32-yard completion and the ensuing two-point conversion to move to within eight, 19-11. When the Jayhawks were forced to punt with a minute remaining in regulation, the defense came up with yet another stop by knocking down a Hail Mary pass as time expired.

Kansas looked as if it would go up in the first quarter only to see a Webb field goal blocked. Another field goal opportunity hit off the left upright in the second quarter.

The Aggies looked to capitalize off the missed chances after putting together an impressive drive in the final minutes of the first half. On fourth-and-one from the Kansas 11-yard line, Texas A&M handed the ball to their bulky and dependable running back, Javorskie Lane. The run was stuffed by James McClinton and James Holt for a two-yard loss. Kansas took over on downs and ran out the clock.

The scoreless first half marked the sixth time Kansas shut out its opponent in the first half this season and the first time the Jayhawks were held scoreless in a half.

Kansas kicks off at Memorial Stadium against Nebraska on homecoming next Saturday, November 3, at 11:30 a.m.

Kansas’ win over Texas A&M…
…Gave KU an 8-0 record for the first time since 1909.
…Gave KU an eight-game winning streak for the first time since the school won nine straight from 1951-52.
…Gave KU a 4-0 conference mark for the first time since 1992.
…Gave KU four conference wins for the first time since the 1995 team posted a 5-2 record in the final year of the Big Eight Conference.
…Marked KU’s 11th win in its last 12 games dating back to last year.
…Gave KU three road wins in the same season for the first time since 1996 (3-3 on the road that year).
…Gave KU three conference road wins in the same season for the first time since 1995 (3-1 on the road in the league that year).
…Gave KU four wins in its last five road games after winning just six out of its previous 50 road games.
…Snapped a seven-game losing streak to Texas A&M.
…Marked its first win in the state of Texas since posting a 34-31 overtime victory at Texas Tech on Oct. 6, 2001.
…Gave KU two wins in the same season against the South Division of the Big 12 for the first time in Big 12 history (league started in 1996).
…Gave KU eight regular-season wins, its most since posting nine in 1995 (1995 team went 10-2 after bowl victory).
…Gave KU an eight-win season (including bowls) for just the 12th time in school history.
…Improved Mark Mangino’s record to 33-35 in his sixth season at Kansas.

Notes
–The Jayhawk defense held its fourth straight opponent (all Big 12 foes) under 100 yards rushing. Opponents are averaging just 60.25 yards on the ground in that span.
–Kansas’ offense produced 407 total yards to top 400 for the seventh time this season.The only game KU did not reach 400 yards of offense was at Colorado.
–Kansas scored first for the seventh time in eight outings. Kansas is 25-8 in the Mark Mangino era when finding the scoreboard first.
–Senior QB Todd Reesing moved up the single season passing yards chart to ninth place with 1,985 yards. He moved past Kelly Donohoe (1,844 in 1988). Reesing ranks 15th on the KU career list with 2,189 yards.
–Kansas held its opponent scoreless in the first half for the sixth time this season. The Jayhawks have shut out their opponent in a total of 20 quarters.
–KU did not score in the first quarter for the second straight week or in the first half for the first time this season. The Jayhawks have only been shut out in five quarters all season.
–Senior RB Brandon McAnderson established a new career-long rush on a 40-yard carry in the fourth quarter. Entering the game, his previous long was a 26-yard run against Toledo earlier this season. McAnderson finished the first quarter with 94 rushing yards. McAnderson finished the game with separate runs of 40, 33, 22 and 20 against Texas A&M.
–McAnderson’s six-yard plunge into the endzone in the third quarter marked the eighth time he hit paydirt this season. He added his ninth TD on a three-yard run in the fourth quarter. It marked his fourth multiple touchdown game of the season.
–McAnderson finished with a career-high 183 yards to give him his third 100-yard rushing game of the season.
–McAnderson and sophomore RB Jake Sharp became the first KU tandem to each record three 100-yard rushing games in the same season since 2005 when Jon Cornish (4) and Clark Green (3) did so. Laverne Smith (7) and Robert Miller (3) are the only other pair in KU history to achieve the feat.
–Freshman WR Dezmon Briscoe hauled in a career-high six receptions. His previous high was four, done against Toledo and at Kansas State.
–Senior WR Marcus Henry and senior TE Derek Fine each move their career reception totals to 82, which ties for 16th on the all-time KU list with two other players.
–Junior DE John Larson scooped up his first fumble recovery of the season. He has been a key component for Kansas in the turnover department as he also has three forced fumbles and an interception this season.
–Junior LB James Holt notched his second career (and second straight) game with double digit tackles. He tied for the team lead with 10 against Texas A&M and also posted a team-high 15 at Baylor.
–Senior PK Scott Webb saw his streak of eight consecutive made field goals snapped.The streak of eight straight tied his career-long. After making 11-of-12 in the first seven games, Webb was 2-of-5 against the Aggies.
–Webb’s third quarter field goal marked the 10th straight game he has kicked it through the uprights. Webb now has 77 points this season (compared to a total of 74 for KU opponents). His 77 points moves him into 11th place on the KU single season list. Last season, Webb finished with 76 points.
–Webb moved into second place on the KU single season list for PATs made with 39.The all-time leader is Bill Bell who made 48 in 1968.
–The announced attendance of 85,341 was the second largest crowd to ever witness a KU football game. The largest was 100,118 in a 1979 visit to Michigan.
–Senior OL Cesar Rodriguez started a team-best 37th game (23rd straight). Senior DTJames McClinton started his team-best 28th straight game (30th overall).
–After starting the same 11 on defense in the first seven games, junior CB Kendrick Harper made his first career start in place of Chris Harris.
–Linebackers Joe Mortensen and Mike Rivera each made their 20th consecutive starts.